Five-year-old boy killed in leopard attack in Gondia

Gondia, Sep 26 (PTI) A five-year-old boy was mauled to death by a leopard in a village in Maharashtra's Gondia district, a forest official said on Friday.

The incident occurred in Sanjaynagar village of Arjuni Morgaon tehsil under the jurisdiction of Gothangaon forest range in the early hours of Thursday, the official said.

The victim, Ansh Prakash Mandal, had stepped out of his house with his grandmother when a leopard attacked and dragged the boy away, he said.

The victim's family and neighbours followed the path the animal had disappeared into. The big cat abandoned the injured boy and ran into the forest, the official said.

The boy was rushed to the government hospital, where he was declared dead, he said.

Angered by the incident, villagers staged an agitation on the Navegaonbandh-Keshori Road, and some of them vandalised a car belonging to a forest official.

Senior forest officials reached the scene and pacified the crowd, following which the agitation was withdrawn. PTI COR ARU